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Post by Dutch on May 29, 2014 19:00:34 GMT -5
Got a bag of expired Whitetail Institute Power Plant that I'm going to put in this weekend. Blend of soybeans, sunflowers, peas, and sorghum.
Gonna disc in some Urea and the seed, then cultipack.
Hope the turkeys don't get it before it sprouts!
Using this just as a summer planting, to be followed up with oats/winter wheat and clover in late August. Should give me a nice stand of clover in the spring, I hope.
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Post by bake545 on May 30, 2014 6:51:55 GMT -5
That always looked interesting to me but like most things from WI it was too pricey for me. Take pictures!
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Post by Dutch on Jun 1, 2014 20:38:57 GMT -5
Bake, the retail price at my Agway was $56, but I got it for $25, which was a good deal. Pic of plot before starting. The materials: The seed in the spreader: Disced, seeded, fertilized and cultipacked:
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Post by lanceoutfitters on Jun 1, 2014 22:06:58 GMT -5
Looks good to me!
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Post by Dutch on Jun 1, 2014 22:09:08 GMT -5
Hope it gets some rain! Will be interesting to see if the deer eat it. I'm sure they will, once they find it. But, it's not like there are a lot of deer in the area.
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Post by lanceoutfitters on Jun 1, 2014 22:21:48 GMT -5
My only question is what are your intentions for this food plot to become? What I mean by that is will this be a hunting/ wildlife/ or bird plot in the short term? If a hunting plot, will it be for both bow and rifle or just rifle? I like to play with the shapes of plus to help increase my chances of a close in counter with a deer, but I try to think bow hunting first and rifle second because of the high main of error that comes with bow hunting. My only other thought is are you traveling a long distance to this plot? If so I can understand the fertilizer being used at planting. If applicable and cost effective I prefer to add the fertilizer after specific stages in the growth of the plant. For covers and other perennial legumes I prefer a granular fertilizer spread around time of the first cutting or shedding of the year. With the mixture you have I would add the fertilizer when the beans are around 6" and 24" in height (assuming a cage would be used to keep the deer from keeping the entire plot around 6"). JMO though.
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Post by lanceoutfitters on Jun 1, 2014 22:28:53 GMT -5
The rain is always a limiting factor. The deer should mow down the peas and beans. If not the sunflowers and sorghum (have any idea the height in that particular sorghum variety?) Will act as climbing posts for the two legumes. They will also highly benefit from the nitrogen affixing nodules the legumes create. The deer will eat the sunflowers and sorghum as well but they really shine as bird attractant. It is possible for the every one of those varieties to self seed next year with proper care and ground prep.
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Post by Dutch on Jun 2, 2014 4:55:05 GMT -5
Not sure what the future of this plot will be. I expect to replant this plot with oats/wheat and clover come late August. Am thinking the deer will eat this off as it comes up? It's just a temporary plot, in my mind.
If the deer don't wipe it out, I may leave it for fall and just seed clover into it come late August. It all depends on how well it does.
I've had this plot since 2002 and last year was the first we hunted it, with crossbows. Mostly hunted it with a 12 year old in hopes he would connect. He almost did, but no luck.
The lower part of this plot will be put into brassica this fall. Currently its 4 year old clover and it's time to rotate crops.
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Post by lanceoutfitters on Jun 2, 2014 12:25:28 GMT -5
How wide is the plot? When bow hunting is my goal I like to make the plot narrower by my stand so even if the deer walk the far edge of the plot they will be in chip shot range. I've added a mini plot in front of the stand to draw them closer. For instance I have an alfalfa plot that is in a half moon shape with the stand on a slight Hill off to the straight sideoff the half moon. This plot is in a draw that is in an elongated s shape with up stream being too the right of the blind and does stream being the opposite. The plot sits at the middle of the S. Within 10 yards of the blind I have oats, peas, and soybeans. I'll see if I can't draw a picture and screen shot it for ya. I alsoo like hour glass shaped plots when I cannot use typography to my advantage.
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Post by lanceoutfitters on Jun 2, 2014 12:33:38 GMT -5
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Post by lanceoutfitters on Jun 2, 2014 12:39:39 GMT -5
Please excuse my horrific drawing. This draw is between higher (30ft elevation difference) plateaus. The smaller circle is the mini plot. The big pot is the alfalfa. When the deer travel from bedding area to being area they will cut across the big plot walking through the little plot. The bedding area to the south has my mineral station in it and further north east part the other bedding area is where water is located.
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Post by Dutch on Jun 2, 2014 19:15:00 GMT -5
Like I said, we really don't hunt this plot. Its a destination plot and I hate to mess with them on this plot, plus, they tend to get there very late. I prefer to just allow them to use it and feed in peace.
Best to try and get them coming and going to the plot a couple hundred yards away.
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Post by Dutch on Jun 2, 2014 19:17:25 GMT -5
Oh, the plot is about 125 yds long and 30 yds wide.
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Post by bushmaster on Jun 2, 2014 19:22:09 GMT -5
Nice looking plot Dutch. Most of mine are thick with clover, the one I started this season is sitting bare. I'll be seeding it with turnips in August. I was thinking about spraying for grasses and weeds, but after my first cut the clover really took over.
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Post by Dutch on Jun 2, 2014 20:33:30 GMT -5
Would have been nice to mow the clover plot this weekend. No time. Time was better spent with my Dad
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Post by lanceoutfitters on Jun 3, 2014 9:26:11 GMT -5
Dutch, I guess I was not astute enough to pick up on the plot being for the he animals benefit only. In that case evening in seeing looks perfect to me.
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Post by Dutch on Jul 7, 2014 17:42:38 GMT -5
Well here is the result, so far. Last week, my brother reported that there was almost no growth. I'm guessing from the lack of rain. It came in spotty and very weedy. Will let it go to see what happens. Here is a sunflower plant, shin high And here is a cowpea or lab lab, not sure which Eventually, this will be killed off, then replanted with oats and clover this fall.
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Post by cspot on Jul 7, 2014 20:54:53 GMT -5
Well the one good thing is at least you don't have a lot of money in the seed. Planting is always a crap shoot on timing. The soil can be perfect but if you don't get the rain and good temps at the right time you can still end up with crap. In western pa we haven't had any issue with lack of rain. Seems like it rains almost every day.
Sent from my NX008HD8G using proboards
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Post by Dutch on Jul 8, 2014 15:36:34 GMT -5
I killed off the clover plot next to it, so I'm sure the deer will soon hit this.
They really aren't hitting anything much. There is so much browse in the woods its amazing. Really no need for a plot, but it's fun, and will have a bigger brassica plot this fall. That they really hammer when all the food in the woods dies in the fall.
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Post by dennyf on Jul 11, 2014 9:36:54 GMT -5
Good lookin' plot there Amos. Assume that's over on the lease? The two small plots at my place are doing well. Cousin's son has them for his project, along with a dozen other small plots scattered around where he has permission to bowhunt. He's expanded his compliment of ATV doodads. Now has a pull-behind rototiller and 4' brush hog, along with a spring tooth harrow and some kinda little toothed clod buster thing. Left his original spring tooth harrow down along the road in my hayfield last fall. Someone stole it this spring, so he removed another section from his dad's old 10' wide rig out in the woods. Betting that'un stays up by the food plot now? smileys-whistling-823718 The smaller plot in the low spot up in the old pasture, is now all clover (Imperial?) and looks good. He got lucky and planted it early, because it's too wet down in there to even walk across now. Not sure what all he'd planted in the corner of my hayfield plot? But he usually puts brassica and turnips in there later in the year. Rain hasn't been a factor for "my" plots, because water is still running out of the hill and into the lower areas where the plots are. Never seen so much ground water up there and I thought it was bad over Memorial Day weekend? Couldn't get much mowed up in the old pasture then, got even less mowed last week. Partly because it was too wet/muddy and partly because the 60" deck drive belt broke after just a few passes on my second time around. No shame there for the belt. I've had that tractor almost ten years and the belts didn't look all that great when I bought 'er. And as always, lots of corn planted in the area and that's looking pretty good. Plenty of browse up top behind the cabin, where the neighbor had some timbering done three years ago.
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Post by Dutch on Aug 17, 2014 16:41:57 GMT -5
Here is a pic of the sunflowers in the Power Plant, whats left of them. The deer stripped the leaves Not real happy with it, but decided to let it play out for the fall. There are a good number of soybeans in that mess, and the deer have to work to find them. As I walked past last night, there were 2 small bucks in there chowing down.
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Post by Dutch on Sept 15, 2014 17:10:06 GMT -5
Here is how it looked over the weekend. Lots of soybeans down under that sorghum.
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Post by cspot on Sept 15, 2014 18:32:38 GMT -5
Hard to tell from the pic, but there looks to be a lot of tonnage in there. Will be interesting to see what is left of it in December.
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Post by Dutch on Sept 15, 2014 18:47:30 GMT -5
I was actually thinking of killing it off in early August, then seeding wheat/oats in there. Decided to leave it stand to see what happens. Glad I did. More of an experiment now than anything.
Am thinking of just going with pure soybeans next June.
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Post by cspot on Sept 15, 2014 18:58:19 GMT -5
What kind of soybeans are you going to plant? I am thinking of planting some next year as well. I want to try something different. I was thinking either that or corn. I may even try the powerplant depending upon how it does this fall for you. Seems like it would also provide a nice cover for rabbits and such. It would also provide a screen between my plot and the rest of the field which may make the deer feel a little more comfortable.
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